Shahnameh, On the Creation of the World, Part 6

Leyla: Hey, salām omid jān!

Omid: salām leylā jān!

Leyla: Thank you so much for joining me on one more. Last time, we had some questions about the general Shahnameh, so we ran a little bit long. We decided to add one more part to conclude, go over the last few lines of the Shahnameh, and also to talk about the cynicism that came up last time, about humanity. We talked about how the human was the “keleed,” and why that was when it seems like things are working without us. But, Omid, if you can talk to us about that, about what's going on here, what Ferdowsi was trying to tell us? 

Omid: Absolutely. As we read the next remaining lines, it will become even more clear. But just to set it up, I think Ferdowsi in this section, because it's really talking about the beginning of things, he’s really intent on showing us what human beings are capable of and in our potential, how valuable and important and powerful we truly are. Now, that power doesn't necessarily have to be used for good, right? And Ferdowsi knows that, Ferdowsi knows that it can go either way. But he's pointing us towards the potential, towards good, of good that we have, the divine potential that is instilled within us, so that maybe we can start to consider, alright, what am I truly capable of and how am I using these powers? And that's very, very important. And we see in Shahnameh that there's a lot of terrible things that happen. So he's not assuming or implying that human beings only use their “kherad” and only live with this divine humanity. We are capable of terrible things that also happen in Shahnameh. And he himself, elsewhere in the preface when he talks about why he even wanted to write the Shahnameh, and collect all these stories and present them, he says, I wanted to do this so that I would understand better, first of all, how it was that things started in such a glorious state, as he describes here, and then ended up in this wretched state that we inherited. So he acknowledges that there is, when you look around you at the world, even in this time, you can see that there is a perspective in which you can see the world as a very somewhat wretched place or not the nicest Paradise that it could be. And he knows that humanity has a big part of that, that we have a big hand in that. So, in fact, the whole idea is maybe to investigate that and say, all right, if we're capable of such good, which he’s showing us in his view we are, why is it that sometimes or often we don't realize that potential and manifest that goodness into our world? And instead, go the ways of maybe not so good values? And there's plenty of examples in Shahnameh where he starts to show us that. And then if we understand the why, then we can maybe start to shift better, and really tap into the good part of our potential to the divine, “kherad,” all the things that we are capable of that are truly humane and meaningful. And so there's this whole process of first showing us what we're capable of, then understanding, through Shahnameh, what happened, that we are not doing all of these great things. And through that, maybe start to then return back to the ways of “kherad,” and bring goodness further back into our world. 

Leyla: So maybe my cynicism is not misplaced. I'm right where he wants me to be.

Omid: I think that's a fair assessment. Yes, I think he understands that, he knows very well that us human beings can look at our world and see that, oh, we're not really doing a lot of divine actions necessarily. But remember, if we look also throughout our history, with all the terrible things, there's also many, many examples of amazing, and good, and humane. and divine things that we human beings have done. And even now, amidst what we can call sometimes a chaotic world, we can certainly find human beings that are doing amazing things, incredible things. 

Leyla: Absolutely. 

Omid: And so that reminds us that even with our cynicism, there is hope, and there is potential, and there is humanity that can start to grow and really manifest much. 

Leyla: Absolutely. Okay. And with that, let's lead to the conclusion of our preface, Creation of the World.

Omid: Beautiful. Thank you, leyla jān. So we left it with the appearance of the humans, and how Ferdowsi sees us as capable of receiving all of this wisdom and all of this intellect, and all of this power of judgment. And then, he really puts it on our plate here, starting with verse 28. He says: “zé rāhé kherad bengaree andakee ké mardom bé ma'nā ché bāshad yekee” He says, “bengaree,” ‘if you look,’ the ‘if’ is implied here. “bengaree” comes from “negareestan,” ‘to look at,’ ‘to really take a good look.’ So he's saying ‘take a good look at,’ “andakee,” ‘even just a little bit,’ take a just a good little look at something, “zé rāhé kherad,” ‘through the eyes,’ or ‘through the lens,’ or ‘through the path’ of “kherad,” ‘that ancient wisdom.’ In other words, use your wisdom that has been instilled in you presumably, and look through those eyes of that wisdom, just a little bit, and want “ké mardom bé ma'nā ché bāshad yekee” ‘Just look and see,’ “ké mardom,” ‘that humanity,’ “ma'nā,” ‘in its true meaning,’ “ché bāshad.” Just what is it that humanity means when we say human, what does it mean? In other words, what is he saying? Is it just a species name? In which case, yes, we're all human because we belong to the species, right? Or is there a certain kind of meaning that Ferdowsi wants us to understand about what it is to be human, which maybe I like to call truly human, right? Not just species-like, but to encompass what humanity is capable of through “kherad,” through this ancient wisdom. Does that make sense? What does it mean? We call each other human? Yes. We are human. But what does it truly mean? He says, ‘look up and at least investigate that.’ And then he says: “magar mardomee kheeré khānee hamee joz een-rā neshānee nadānee hamee” He says, ‘do this, take a look, investigate your own humanity.’ What does it mean? ‘Unless,’ “magar,” “mardomee,” ‘humanity,’ “kheeré khānee,” “kheeré” means ‘foolishly,’ ‘blindly.’ He says, unless we were just foolishly, blindingly “khānee,” calling humans humans all the time, we're just going around saying, yeah, that's a human, that's a human, I’m a human. That's a foolish, for Ferdowsi, that's a kind of foolishness if we just know it by the name. “joz een-rā neshānee nadānee hamee.” You don't have any signs, or you don't understand any other notions or signs of humanity, other than the word. You would just go around using this word, being human. So what is he really encouraging us? He's really encouraging us to investigate our own nature, our own existence, and see what it means to be truly human. And he doesn't give us necessarily a direct answer to that. But I think again, the entirety of Shahnameh, it has, in a way, an answer to that also, and he really gets into all the nooks and crannies of what it means to be human. And yes, there are parts that are amazing and divine. There are parts that are not so amazing and not so divine. But then the more we get to know these different parts of us, the more we have the ability to choose and give deliberately, in a way that is perhaps living up to our highest potential, living up to our divine potential. And I think that's one of his wishes for us as humans, one of Ferdowsi’s wishes, and all the mystics. And so the last two lines really gets beautifully mystical, I think. He says: “tō-rā az dō geetee bar āvardé-and bé chandeen meeyānjee beparvardé-and” He speaks to us directly, to each one of us, “tō,” he says: “tō-rā az dō geetee bar āvardé-and” “bar āvardan” is ‘to create,’ is ‘to bring in to existence,’ he says, ‘you have been created from two realms,’ “dō geetee,” ‘two worlds,’ ‘two realms.’ So he's already telling us that there's two aspects to us, right? Or there's two realms that have come together to make this human being. What might those two realms be? There's a lot of different answers one could give to this. One of my favorite answers is, perhaps we can think of ourselves as the realm, a coming together of the realm of material physicality and the realm of the non-material or the spirits realm. We are an amalgamation of body and spirit for all the mystics. And so these two realms join together, this duality joins together, and out of it comes what we call the Trinity, which is a human being, and something that didn't exist before these two things were joined together. And he says, “bé chandeen meeyānjee beparvardé-and.” “meeyānjee” is like ‘intermediary,’ he says, ‘you have been cultivated through many intermediaries.’ So it's not just the coming together of these two realms, the body and spirit, or sometimes we could say the seen, the visible and the invisible, the unseen. So we are these two realms coming together, but also we have been cultivated through many, many intermediaries. Now, who or what are these intermediaries, do you think, Leyla? 

Leyla: I don't know. 

Omid: I don’t know either. I have thoughts, but I think it's really fascinating to leave that as a little puzzle, as a little mystery that if there have been intermediaries that have had a hand in the creation of human beings, what are those? Are they beings, are they some mysterious, mystical entities, or is he talking about an evolution, long before Darwin, where many, many, many stages of evolution had to happen, and each one of those can be considered an intermediary? That's another way to think about it. But either way, he’s trying to say, I would think, that this is not just an accident, right? You didn't just happen. There is a deliberate process that resulted in your existence, in each one of us human beings, and that tells us something about ourself. We're not just this accidental thing and therefore relatively meaningless thing. That there is meaning, there is purpose, there's intention behind our entering into this world, into this existence. And so can we think about that? Can we consider that, can we give that some pause, rather than just say, yeah, I’m a human, and just go about my business? So the last verse here is: “nakhosteené fetrat paseené shomār tō-ee kheeshtan-rā bé bāzee madār!” This verse takes a little bit of careful parsing here. “nakhosteen” means, ‘that which is first,’ “nakhost” or “nakhosteen” means ‘the first’. It can also mean, sometimes, in a hierarchy, ‘the highest.’ Like we say, the number one song on the chart which means in the highest position. So I think both of those implications are possible and relevant here. So “nakhosteen” in what? First in “fetrat.” “fetrat” is a little bit of an academic word these days. It has the connotation of ‘essence’ or ‘nature.’ So in our essence, Ferdowsi is saying in our nature, we are the first. In other words, we're not the first creature to appear. But in a way, we are possessors of that very, very essential first essence, that very, very first entity that has always existed. In other words, divinity itself, in other words, I think he’s trying to say, in essence, we are divine, we are of the highest nature. Now again, I’m with you Leyla, that we don't always live that nature. We live, sometimes with our more basic instinct and baser instincts, and that causes a lot of chaos. But here, he's just saying we have that in us. We are made of that, of highest essence. And then “paseené shomār,” “paseen” is the opposite of ”nokhosteen,” “paseen” means ‘the last’ or ‘the latest.’ And “shomār” means ‘the order of something.’ We say bee shomāram, like I count things in order. So “shomār” here means ‘order.’ So we are first in essence, in our nature, and perhaps highest, we are possessors of that highest divine essence. But we are the latest to appear in terms of what? In terms of evolution. Plants, animals, and then human beings, at least that we know of on this planet. So he puts this little contrast and says, yes, you are the latest to appear, but you have that earliest essential divinity. And that’s you, “tō-ee,” he says. That's what you are. So therefore “kheeshtan-rā bé bāzee madār!” “kheeshtan” means ‘yourself.’ What does it mean, Leyla, the “bāzee madār?”

Leyla: It means ‘be a serious person.’ Don't play your life away. Don't play it, don't be a play- I guess you put, ‘don't conduct yourself frivolously.’ That's good. 

Omid: Frivolously, don’t think of yourself as just a plaything and allow yourself to just live frivolously, exactly. “bāzee” means ‘play.’ But here, it doesn't have a positive connotation. It has a more negative connotation. When you make a plaything of yourself, and you live a frivolous life, right? What does he want? He really wishes for us to understand who we are, to contemplate who we are, understand what we're capable of, what has been instilled in us that is good and divine and essential, and to understand that through a long process, whether you call it evolution or creation or whatever you want to call it, that we are here on purpose, with a sense of deliberateness. And so what is it that we're here? Maybe it implies a mission that we are here to accomplish but that maybe, as he says later in Shahnameh, we have long forgotten and strayed from, and maybe the whole idea is, as we read the stories of Shahnameh, to remember and to come back to what it is that we're truly here for and what it is to be truly human, rather than just, willy nilly, just live a life of a frivolous person. Does that make sense? 

Leyla: Yeah. Wonderful. 

Omid: And that's where all of this comes to. It's beautiful to see, as you see, to read this beautiful account and understand and visualize everything coming into place, and taking its just place. But in a way, one could also say it's all here for me as well. It's all here so that I can be empowered, and really become capable of doing the amazing things that I can do, and not necessarily live frivolously and do the horrible things that we sometimes end up doing. There’s a huge, huge lesson in that, I think, for all of us. 

Leyla: Yeah, I don't know if you’ve watched Succession, but the last line really reminded me of Logan Roy standing over his children and saying, ‘You are not serious people.’ I think that line really hit people hard. I mean, not that Logan Roy was a good character or anything, but he had nefarious reasons. But that reminds me you only have this one life. Take it seriously. 

Omid: That's beautiful. And again, that doesn't mean that we don’t get to play and have fun and enjoy it, right? 

Leyla: Absolutely not. No, no, no, no. 

Omid: We know that's a very important part of life, but just to contemplate in a serious way, what am I here for and what is my purpose and what is my mission in life, so that we don't live this frivolous life, that sometimes we human beings end up with.

Leyla: And wasteful, yes.

Omid: Yes, exactly. 

Leyla: Yeah, but this was really good to hear because it is the foundation of so much that we see throughout the Shahnameh. So, what is it that you want us to take from this as we continue our studies of Shahnameh? 

Omid: Yeah, as you study Shahnameh, I think it's important to then look at Shahnameh in one sense as a really opening up of all of the different aspects of a human being. Each character in Shahnameh that when we read Shahnameh, really becomes something that we can identify in ourselves. When we see Rostam, I can ask, ‘Alright, where is the Rostam in me?’ When I see Zahhāk, the king with the snake on his shoulders, I say, ‘Oh, is there a Zahhāk in me as well?’ And really, each one of these characters, Zāl, Rudabeh, every single one of them can be understood as Ferdowsi shining a light, showing a mirror into one part of me. And as I get to do that, I really, it becomes really a journey of self-knowledge and self-awareness. And I think this preface really sets that up, he is asking the question, like, “bengaree andakee,” ‘look at yourself a little bit and understand yourself first.’ Socrates, 2500 years ago, his model was know thyself, and so if we can get to know ourselves through Shahnameh, as much as we enjoy all the excitement and all the adventures, but also to get to know who we are better, then we can live more deliberately, and really choose what aspects of me I want to highlight and empower, and what aspects of me are not the parts that I want to give power to, that I want to keep those a little bit more under wraps. 

Leyla: Well, wonderful. Thank you so much. I think that was a wonderful introduction to, a good foundation for the Shahnameh. As you said, we get into the exciting stories of how we can view those. 

Omid: Yeah, I'm so grateful for this opportunity. And I'm really, really hopeful that we'll do more of these sessions because, as I think I've mentioned, Shahnameh for me is not just ‘The Book of Kings.’ It’s certainly the king of books, and it has so much to offer. So, however or wherever, you're doing everyone this favor of bringing more of this Shahnameh, making it accessible, I'm grateful to you for that as well. It's a beautiful thing, leyla jān.

Leyla: Absolutely. And thank you for these years-long journeys that you go on and for studying it so wonderfully, so that you can impart this wisdom on us. It's important to have “kherad” seekers like yourself to talk to us about about these things.

Omid: It's a blessing, truly a privilege and a blessing. 

Leyla: We can hopefully do many more of these. And like I said, I'll link to Omid’s work so that if you're in the area or, if you're around, do you do Zoom sessions too? 

Omid: Actually most of our classes are on Zoom. So wherever you are, you're welcome to join. 

Leyla: Oh, perfect. Okay. So wherever you are, you'll be able to link up with him directly, to get even more serious as we read and hear about these things, because it's important to be serious as a human being about what we're studying. 

Omid: But also have fun. Let’s not forget fun. 

Leyla: Yes, yes it is. But a lot of times, I think that people are turned off from these studies or our brains are getting so mushy with social media and short form and getting shorter and shorter things. So this book is really a testament to, Ferdowsi spent 30 years on this book! You’ve spent seven years getting halfway through it with your students. And to have these long form studies is very important, to have the capacity and the will to to go through that is really wonderful. 

Omid: And it retrains our brain from all the kind of, as you say, short attention span stuff that is really making us less and less able to focus and look at the bigger picture. And it retrains our mind to kind of go back to that capability for sure. 

Leyla: Absolutely. So it's very important. So thank you to all the listeners for coming on this journey with us, for being a serious person and coming with us on this journey. So with that, khaylee mamnoon, omid jān, and we'll be back with another exciting portion of the Shahnameh in the near future. 

Omid:  Thanks leylā jān, thanks to all of you listeners as well. 

Leyla: Yes. khodāhāfez bé hamegee. 

Omid: khodāhāfez.